Art Fair Philippines
6 – 15 May 2021
Secret Fresh Gallery
Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Ave, 1502 San Juan, Philippines
“There never was a time when there was not motion”
– Aristotle
The word Meanwhile can mean 2 different things. It can refer to an action done while one is waiting, or it can refer to an instance that is happening simultaneously with another action. This word aptly describes our world today. Sicknesses, calamities, death, and destruction are inevitable. It has always existed throughout history in varying levels. A person comes to a pause whenever such events take place. With this pause, one is forced to question their own existence, the role they play in society, and the finiteness of life.
In a period of turmoil, many of us, by default, wait for external circumstances to prod us to move forward. The philosopher, Rousseau, once argued that we become human to the extent we participate in civilization. This leads us to choose whether to be a protagonist or a spectator in our own lives. Borrowing from the Stoics, do we choose to be “like a dog tied to a cart, and compelled to go wherever it goes” or to move independently? In a world that is consistently unpredictable and changing, people are called to be completely autonomous and self-determined by virtue.
This exhibition, Meanwhile, acknowledges the duality of its meaning. It is either a passive or active approach to turmoil. The series of works presented do not necessarily reflect what is happening at present. The works are incoherent and disconnected to one another, seemingly unconcerned with each other and the outside world. Each work does not adhere to an overarching storyline. As a matter of fact, there is no overarching storyline. Although each person is deeply entrenched in their own circumstances, there is a certain level of temperance and the refusal to be reactive towards what is being experienced. The works reflect each artist’s capacity to work simultaneously with global events and a commitment to a their own professional and personal lives. In an everchanging world, the act of work is a fixed variable in which its significance does not increase in accordance to an experience.
The world is not in a good place right now. Meanwhile, we keep working.
Valerie Chua
Participating artists
Alexander Lim
Ciane Xavier
Dexter Sy
Jason Montinola
Kaloy Sanchez
Lee Jake Mariano
Martin Honasan
Nik M Shazmie
Nix Puno
RA Tijing
Rega Rahman
Shafiq Nordin
Valerie Chua
Victoria
